Job openings reach historic high of almost 11 million. Why are 9 million still jobless?

American businesses are hiring — and at historic rates, with almost 11 million job openings in July, according to the latest government data. Yet more than 9 million people were collecting enhanced unemployment benefits as of the Labor Day cutoff of those pandemic benefits, an apparent disconnect that has roiled lawmakers, policy experts and business owners. 

It all boils dow to this: If there are more job openings than unemployed workers, why aren't more people coming off unemployment aid? And why are businesses struggling to find employees to wait tables, take orders and drive buses? The number of job openings in the U.S. surged to a historic high of 10.9 million at the end of July, up from 10.2 million in June, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data released by the Department of Labor on Wednesday.  "For economists, this is a big mystery: If businesses are trying to expand and there is a big pool of unemployed workers, in normal times we would see big jobs growth," said Luke Pardue, an economist at Gusto, a company that handles payroll and other services for small and midsized businesses. "That matching isn't happening."